Last week
I continued my Election information blog with a post titled Time & Remuneration. This post is the second in the series giving prospective candidates an idea of what the role entails, and giving residents some insight on the demands of the role.
Annual ESAB Meeting with Council: This is our annual meeting with the volunteers who advise the CAO on matters relating to economic sustainability. With development moving at a fast pace and recovery from the challenges of the past year top-of-mind, this was an excellent opportunity to discuss economic challenges and opportunities with some of our business leaders.
Policing Committee: Council met with our Policing Committee and new commander, Ryan Comaniuk. It was a valuable opportunity to hear about the RCMP priorities over the next year, and hear how the city can help support policing in St. Albert.
Council Offsite Levy Workshop: This workshop was to walk through proposed changes to our offsite levies bylaw, which creates the framework for how infrastructure related to growth is financed.
Agenda highlights
We have quite a few speakers registered to speak, regarding:
Increasing the number of hens permitted in a backyard coop.
A request to provide additional funding to the curling club.
A request (?) regarding the provincial 1976 coal policy that was rescinded (then reinstated), resulting in approved coal exploration permits in previously disallowed areas.
Clean Energy Improvement Program
The proposed motion for this item is:
That Administration be directed to prepare for Council's consideration:
(a) a Clean Energy Improvement Tax Bylaw under Part 10, Division 6.1 of the Municipal Government Act; and
(b) a motion to authorize the CAO to take the necessary steps to establish a Clean Energy Improvement Program, in order to give interested and qualifying St. Albert property owners the opportunity to make clean energy improvements to their properties (thereby reducing St. Albert’s carbon footprint) for which the costs initially fronted by the City are paid or reimbursed over time through an annual special purpose property tax levy.
This proposed motion is a bit surprising because I was under the impression that next steps would be to provide Council with some background information about funding sources, risk, etc. so we could make a decision about whether to direct Admin to prepare a bylaw or program. That said, this is an exciting program and would provide residents with an opportunity to more easily retrofit their homes to be more sustainable. Right now, these motions are scheduled to be passed without discussion, but they might be pulled for a more fulsome discussion.
Pandemic Response and Recovery ($2.4M)
Administration did not have to use $2.4M of the funds allocated to covid-19 response, so this motion is to confirm that the CAO can use them for “ongoing COVID-19 response and recovery without further or specific Council approval, including expenditures for organizational, community and business supports as well as any supports that may be required for a vaccination program”. There will be a lot of recovery activities over the next year, so this motion will allow us to respond quickly to opportunities.
Municipal Development Plan - 2nd & 3rd readings
This is the public hearing and likely-final readings of our new MDP. As is required, the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board approved the plan and no appeals were made by neighbouring municipalities before the March 1 deadline. If approved, this document will shape the growth and development of St. Albert for the next decades.
Withdrawing from School Site Allocation Agreement
This motion is to withdraw from the allocation agreement that sees the three school boards, along with the municipality, decide on which new schools go where. From what I understand, because of changes to provincial legislation made in 2020, withdrawing from this agreement would require that we create another agreement - but I’m sure that we will sort that out before a decision is made to make this motion.
This is a brief and incomplete overview of our meetings, with my personal comments sprinkled in - In no way are my opinions representative of the official direction of council or the City of St. Albert. Please let me know of any typos or errors. Members of the public can also register to speak if they have information to present to council. Full agenda packages can be found on the stalbert.ca website.
